6.4. Consequences of Plagiarism

Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating, forgery, plagiarism, and collusion in dishonest acts undermine the McAfee Institute’s educational mission and the students’ personal, professional and intellectual growth. McAfee Institute students are expected to bear individual responsibility for their work, to learn the rules and definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity, and to uphold its ideals. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them. Any student who attempts to compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned (See Section 16).

Basic Rules:
Do NOT share or disseminate course materials or Examinations with others. Do not use additional resources and materials during examinations.

Definitions of Academic Dishonesty
Cheating is the attempted or unauthorized use of materials, information, notes, study aids, devices or communication during an academic exercise.

Examples include:
• Copying from another student during an examination or allowing another to copy your work.
• Unauthorized copying of examination materials or utilizing unauthorized copies of past examinations for another course is strictly prohibited.
• Unauthorized collaborating on research assignment or examination.
• Using unauthorized notes during an online examination.
• Taking an examination for another student.
• Asking or allowing another student to take an examination for you.
• Changing a corrected exam and returning it for more credit.
• Submitting substantial portions of the same assignment to two classes without consulting the other instructor.
• Preparing answers, copying prep review quizzes, copying prior examinations, or writing notes, which is to be utilized during an examination.
• Allowing others to research and write assigned papers including the use of commercial term paper services.

Plagiarism is the act of presenting another person’s ideas, research or writing as your own.

This includes, but is not limited to:
• Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes.
• Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your words without acknowledging them.
• Using the information that is not considered common knowledge without acknowledging the source.
• Failure to acknowledge collaborators on homework and laboratory assignments.
• Purchase and submission of papers from “paper mills,” internet vendor sites, and other sources.

Obtaining an Unfair Advantage:

• Stealing, reproducing, copying, circulating or otherwise gaining prior access to course materials or examination materials.
• Depriving other students of stealing, destroying, defacing or concealing library materials.
• Copying, Digital Recording / Retaining, using or circulating examination materials that clearly indicate that they should be returned at the end of the exam.
• Intentionally obstructing or interfering with another student’s work.
• Sharing your homework assignments with others to include posting or re-posting your assignments to the public.
• Engaging in activities that intentionally create an unfair advantage over another student’s academic work.

Falsification of Records and Official Documents:
• Forging signatures of authorization
• Falsifying information on an official exam application.